Rear superheater for locomotives



REAR SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed April 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Malcolm Hfl-l'd- ATTORNEY June 19, 1934. M. HARD REAR SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1932 INGENTOR Malcolm Hard BY Q V, M

ATTORNEY M. HARD REAR SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed April 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Malcolm Hard BY ATTORNEY June 19, 1934.

June 19, 1934. M. HARD HEAR SUPERHE'ATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed April 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR M lcolm Hard.

ATTORNEY June 19, 1934. M. HARD 1,963,742

I REAR SUPERHEA'I'ER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed April 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 'INVENTOR Malcolm Hard lava ATTORNEY Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REAR SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Malcolm Hard, Hammond, Ind., assignor to The Superheater Company, New York, Y.

Application April 1, 1932, Serial No. 602,464

2 Claims.

in'a position where they would receive gases of a higher average temperature than those of the type now commonly used. Such proposals have,

in general, sufiered either from exposing all or part of the surface of the superheater to gases of too high a temperature or have been diflicult of access.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide an arrangement for a locomotive superheater which shall avoid the above mentioned difficulties.

The novel features of my invention are pointed out in the appended claims. In order, however, that my invention, together with further Objects and advantages thereof, may be easily and fully understood, I will now describe in detail and in connection with the accompanying drawings, a locomotive superheated arrangement selected by way of example from among a number of possible embodiments of my invention. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View on a transverse vertical plane near the forward end of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings more in detail, 10 is a locomotive having a barrel 12 provided with smoke flues 14 (Fig. 5) and steam dome 16 in the usual manner. At the rear of the locomotive 10 is a fire box 18. In the locomotive illustrated, the fire box 18 delivers to a combustion chamber 20 but I do not limit myself to this, as many locomotives do not employ a combustion chamber. The flue sheet 22 for the fire tubes 14 is shown at the forward end of the combustion chamber 20, (Figs. 4 and 5). In the locomotive illustrated, there is a horizontal transverse chamber 24 near the forward end of the combustion chamber 20 for the reception of a superheater 26. The chamber 24 extends through the side walls of the locomotive boiler at each side, itsends being normally closed by cover plates 28, 28. Steam for superheater 26 is taken from the dome 16 by a single outside dry pipe 30. In the arrangement illustrated, the ,superheater 26 is composed of two similar sets of units 32 and '33.- Headers for the units 32 lie on the right hand side of the locomotive near one mouth of chamher 24. The saturated steam header 34 for units 32 is preferably, at the rear of the chamber 24 and the superheated stem header 36at the forwardvedge of such chamber. Headers 34 and 36 preferably are substantially vertical. The 70. saturated steam header for units 33 similar to the header 34 is shown at 35 and a superheated steam header for units 33 similar to header 36 is shown at 37. Headers 34 and 35 receive steam through curved downcomers 38, 38 which connect to a Y-fitting 40 receiving steam from the pipe 30. Headers 36 and 37 for superheated steam have extensions 36a and 37a thereon which run downwardly through passages. 40, 40 provided thru the water chamber 42 which extends rearwardly from the barrel 12 beneath the chamber 24 in which elements 32 and 33 are located. At their lower ends, extensions 36a and 37a connect with a Y-fitting 44 through which superheated steam is delivered to a single Outside steam pipe 46 which conducts the superheated steam forward to the cylinders 48, 48, a throttle valve chest 50 being located in pipe 46 near its forward end from which steam is conducted to the cylinders by branches 46a, 46a. Suitable operating means, preferably including a lever 52, link 54, bell lever 56 and rod 58, are provided for connecting the stem 60 of the throttle valve in chest 50 to the engineers Operating lever 62 in the engine cab.

It will be seen further that the units 32 and 33 of the multiple loop construction each lie substantially horizontal, but the inner ends of the elements of units 32 adjoin, or preferably overlap, the inner ends of the elements of units 33, whereby channeling of the gases is prevented. Altho there are two sets of units in superheater 26, both sets take steam from a single pipe and deliver to a single pipe and have units all substantially the same length so that there is no possibility that the steam delivered to the cylinders will be of different temperature and small probability that the steam delivered to the cylinders will vary rapidly in temperature. Each unit of the set 32 or 33, however, connects to the associated headers by breakable joints 35, 35 which are on the outer faces of the headers, each set of elements lying intermediate its associated pair of headers whereby the units may be withdrawn from the chamber 24 for inspection or repair whenever desired. As shown, the holding means 35a, 35a, for securing the joints 35 to the headers are arranged each to clamp two elements 32 or 33, so that the elements in the arrangement. illustrated need be removed and replaced two at a time. However, I do not limit myself to this as appears clearly from Fig. 5 the ends of the units contact with the outer faces of the headers and the units can be removed and inserted between the headers.

For reducing somewhat the temperature of thegases striking the units 32 and 33, I prefer to employ a screen of water tubes 64; 64 located in a vertical transverse plane between the forward end of the combustion chamber 20 and chamber 24. The water tubes 64 are arranged in two similar groups, one right and one left, and each such tube has a vertical portion connecting into the topof the water chamber 42 beneath the combustion chamber and a substantially horizontal portion which is connected to said vertical portionand which delivers thru a vertical side wall" of the combustion chamber into one of the water legs at the sides of the combustion chamber. By the arrangement described, both'portions of such tubes are readily accessible for cleaning thru apertures in the outer wall of the boiler- Such. water tubes not only protect the superheater elements to some extent, but add materially to the steaming capacity of the locomotive. Said apertures are normally closed by plugs 66, 66. By providing a plug 66 at each end of each tube 64 they can be very thoroughly cleaned whenever desired while the location of tubes 64 is such that they receive an abundant supply of water toprevent them from becoming overheated. They thereby permit the locomotive to obtain some of the advantages of the water tube construction with the minimum change from the common locomotive structure.

It will be seen further that a steam and water chamber 43 extends above the chambers 18, 20 and 24 parallel tothe water chamber 42 so as to protect the crown sheet of the fire box and combustion chamber in the usual manner.

What I claim is:

1-. The combination with a locomotive barrel having a combustion chamber of a superheater in said chamber, said superheater having both a vertical saturated header and, a vertical superheated header on each side of said chamber and. two sets of superheater units, one set between the headers. on one side and. the other set between the headers. on the other side of said chamber, said units all lying each in a given horizontal plane and extending from one side of the loco-- motive to the central longitudinal vertical planev thereof.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 and 105 in. which the combustion chamber has a section provided with a flat floor and roof and the superheater units lie in such section.

MALCOLM HARD. 

